2025-02-28
News Categories : Committee News
It was disclosed during the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) that an employee of the Colombo Municipal Council had misused a land and official residence within the Borella Cemetery, owned by the council, to establish and operate a funeral palour since 1994.
These revelations were made during the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) Committee meeting held in Parliament, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Aravinda Senarath, on the February 25th and 27th recently. During the meetings, officials from the Colombo Municipal Council were summoned to review the Auditor General’s reports for the years 2022 and 2023, as well as the council’s current performance.
The Auditor General stated that the Colombo Municipal Council had not taken any action regarding the unauthorized business being operated within an illegal structure in the Borella Cemetery at the first Committee meeting held. Although COPE had previously recommended that a report be submitted detailing the measures taken before July 6, 2023, to reclaim the premises back to the Colombo Municipal Council, and a report was indeed submitted, no progress had been made in regaining possession of the building.
During the discussion, officials presented information regarding the unauthorized business, confirming that it was being run by an employee of the Colombo Municipal Council who had misused the official residence and land within the Borella Cemetery. It was also disclosed that this employee had previously been suspended from service but was reinstated. At this instance, the Committee Chair inquired whether the funeral palour had been registered as a legitimate business within the city of Colombo. The officials responded that while the funeral palour had not obtained the necessary permits, it had been registered as a company under the Registrar of Companies. The Chair further questioned how such a business could operate without an environmental report, to which the officials stated that such an operation would not be legally permissible. Consequently, COPE instructed the immediate shutdown of the illegal funeral palour.
The then-Commissioner of the Colombo Municipal Council, who appeared before the Committee, presented information regarding the unauthorized operation of the funeral palour. It was disclosed that the business had been in operation since 1994. She further disclosed that despite the employee's attempts to fraudulently obtain ownership of the land and business, these efforts were unsuccessful. Additionally, she informed the Committee that due to her continued efforts to address this issue, she had even faced death threats.
The former Municipal Commissioner revealed that this illegal operation was being carried out publicly and that the misuse of the building and land in question had caused a loss of 41 million rupees to the Colombo Municipal Council from between 1994 and 2020. Furthermore, as it is illegal for a government employee to engage in business, pointing out that the individual in question had fraudulently changed the name of the business from time to time to continue its operations. Additionally, it was revealed] that the Colombo Municipal Council employee managing this funeral palour had been accused of soliciting a bribe of 600,000 rupees for a burial during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as engaging in fraudulent issuance of receipts at the Borella Public Cemetery.
Members of the Committee pointed out that such a fraudulent operation could not be carried out by a single individual and that many other officials were involved in the process. As a result, the Committee proposed that action be taken against the individual under the Public Property Act. Consequently, the Committee Chair instructed the Chief Secretary of the Western Province to conduct an investigation into this business operation, which involved the misuse of state property, and to submit a report to the Committee within two weeks. In recognition of her revelations regarding this illegally operated funeral palour, the Committee commended the former Municipal Commissioner, and the Chair directed officials to ensure that the commendation was placed in her personal file.
Furthermore, the Committee also focused on the revenue from parking fees collected by the Colombo Municipal Council. It was disclosed that, as of 2024, the outstanding amount due from parking contractors was 580 million rupees. Accordingly, it was disclosed to the Committee that in 2025, parking contractors with outstanding dues would not be selected for tenders. Officials further stated that efforts to recover the outstanding amounts had already commenced. Additionally, the Committee was informed that, according to an audit report, land allocated for parking spaces for Colombo Municipal Council members had been sold to third parties. Officials clarified that traditionally, council members were allocated parking spaces near their offices. Consequently, the Committee Chair instructed officials to explore the possibility of reclaiming the misallocated lands from those who had obtained them.
The Committee also engaged in an extensive discussion regarding the smart street lighting project implemented by the Colombo Municipal Council. Initially promoted as a cost-free project for the Council, it was later revealed by the former Commissioner that the project had resulted in a loss of 2.45 billion rupees. She further disclosed that she had objected to certain conditions set by the company managing the project, which led to threats from an official of the company, including statements that posed a threat to national security. She informed the Committee that, during the relevant period, the control of street lights in Colombo’s high-security zone had been under the company’s management, raising serious national security concerns. Given the severity of the matter, the Committee Chair instructed that an immediate complaint be filed with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Additionally, the Auditor General highlighted that the Colombo Municipal Council had over 5 billion rupees in outstanding property tax revenue. Despite annual increases in municipal revenue, the lack of a proper mechanism for collecting overdue amounts had resulted in the accumulation of arrears over the years. Officials from the Municipal Council acknowledged that these arrears had been accumulating for a long period and emphasized the need to properly identify properties with outstanding taxes. They proposed conducting a survey to obtain clear information on the properties in arrears, the amount due, and the responsible parties.
Committee members underscored the importance of preparing a structured report with a clear timeline for recovering these outstanding amounts. Accordingly, the committee instructed that a plan be implemented to collect outstanding dues from identified properties in the Colombo Fort area within a month. Additionally, the Chairman directed officials to prepare and submit a comprehensive plan within a week for identifying and collecting arrears in other areas of Colombo.
The committee also reviewed the progress of the process to regularize municipal land holdings. Officials stated that, with the support of the Survey Department and external stakeholders, all municipal lands would be legally regularized by the end of the year.
The committee meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Nalin Hewage, Anton Jayakody, Sugath Thilakaratne, and Hon. Members of Parliament Ruwanthilaka Jayakody, Chandana Sooriyaarachchi, Sagarika Athauda, Attorney at Law, Oshani Umanga, Susantha Kumara Nawarathna, Dr. Janaka Senarathna, Dinindu Saman, and Lal Premanath, along with a number of public officials.
2025-04-23
The second Parliamentary Sub-Committee on “Strengthening the legal framework related to the transport sector and steering the transport sector in a positive direction”, established by the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation discussed the need to focus on the transport needs of the community with disabilities. This sub-committee meeting was held on 10.04.2025 at the Parliament premises, chaired by the Hon. Member of Parliament, Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law. Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Chair of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities and a member of the sub-committee, also participated in the meeting. In addition, a group of representatives, including heads of organizations and institutions representing various segments of the community with disabilities, attended the Committee meeting. Accordingly, the challenges encountered in fulfilling the transport needs of the community with disabilities and the proposals to address these issues were extensively discussed during the sub-committee meeting. It was identified that the lack of proper accessibility to transportation modes is a major issue faced by the community with disabilities. Due to the absence of appropriate access facilities for buses and trains, persons with disabilities are often compelled to rely on hired vehicles, which results in them incurring significant expenses, a concern they highlighted to the sub-committee. The representatives pointed out that although the Gazette Notification issued under the Disabled Persons (Accessibility) Regulations, No. 1 of. 2006 mandates the provision of proper facilities for this community, many institutions and individuals fail to comply with these regulations. They also brought to the attention of the sub-committee the need to ensure the effective implementation of these laws in order to deliver tangible benefits to the community with disabilities. Representatives from these organizations also indicated to the sub-committee that certain conduct by bus conductors causes serious inconvenience to individuals with disabilities. They emphasized the necessity of not only legislative reforms but also improving attitudes towards persons with disabilities The need for legislation to allocate seats on buses and trains specifically for personas with disabilities, allowing them to board buses without the need for conductors’ assistance, and ensuring appropriate communication facilities at railway stations for the convenience of the disabled. Additionally, several other issues impacting this community were addressed. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the issuance of driving licenses to individuals with hearing impairments has been discontinued. The representatives appealed to the sub-committee to intervene and ensure that this facility is reinstated for those individuals. Accordingly, the Committee Chair stated that the issues and proposals submitted by the community with disabilities should be sent in writing to the sub-committee within two weeks. She further stated that after reviewing these submissions, a final report would be submitted to the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation.
2025-04-23
The Ministry of Transport is also requested to submit proposals within two months Sub-Committee also looks into developing a formal system to check the suitability of public transport vehicles National Transport Commission instructed to submit proposals to increase the professionalism of public transport drivers within a month Discussions were held regarding proposals to strengthen the existing legal framework to ensure the safety of public transport, including the safety of bus passengers at the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on “Strengthening the legal framework related to the transport sector and steering the transport sector in a positive direction”, established by the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation. This Sub-Committee met on 09.04.2025 under the chairpersonship of Hon. Member of Parliament, Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, during which attention was drawn to this matter. Accordingly, officials representing the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and several institutions under its purview participated in the Sub-Committee meeting. Their views were obtained with regard to strengthening the legal framework to ensure the safety of passengers using public transport. The need to regulate the procedure for issuing fitness certificates for public transport buses was emphasized during the Sub-Committee. Officials stated that under Section 29 of the Motor Traffic Act, these fitness certificates are issued for buses, lorries, and ambulances by garages registered under the Provincial Councils, without regulation from the Department of Motor Traffic. Due to issues concerning the standards and reliability of these garages, the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee stressed the need to establish a formal procedure for this purpose. The necessity of enforcing “construction regulations” under Section 19 of the Motor Traffic Act was also discussed. Accordingly, detailed discussions were held regarding aspects such as the required spacing between seats, removal of unnecessary equipment, and installation of seat belts in both newly imported and existing buses for passenger safety. Based on the relevant data and information, the Ministry of Transport was instructed to prepare a report with proposals on the measures to be implemented concerning passenger safety in public transportation and submit it to the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport within two months. Furthermore, attention was drawn to the necessary steps to enhance the professionalism of public transport drivers. Accordingly, the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee directed the National Transport Commission to submit proposals for the standardization of the driving profession within one month. It was also instructed that data related to road accidents that occurred during the past three months be promptly submitted to the Sub-Committee. The Chairperson of the Sub-Committee emphasized the importance of preparing future recommendations based on this data. Attention was also drawn to strengthening the necessary legal provisions for enforcing the law against the use of drugs by bus drivers. Officials mentioned that regulations relevant to this matter under the Motor Traffic Act are currently in the final stage of preparation. The need to promptly implement these regulations and to properly establish the technological mechanisms required to detect drug substances in the bodies of drivers was highlighted. This Sub-Committee primarily examines possible short-term and long-term changes to laws and regulations related to the transport sector, following which a report containing the necessary recommendations is to be prepared. Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva also participated in this Sub-Committee meeting.
2025-04-10
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) of Parliament, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Nishantha Samaraweera, conducted a field investigation at the Bandaranaike International Airport on 09.04.2025. The COPE recently (2025.04.02) reviewed the Bandaranaike International Airport Development Project in connection with the Auditor General's Reports for the years 2022 and 2023 and the current performance of the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited (AASL), and accordingly conducted this field investigation. It was expected that the number of aircraft stands at Bandaranaike International Airport would be increased through the construction of a Remote Apron and Taxiways as part of the Bandaranaike International Airport Development Project. However, it was observed that both the AASL and the Japanese joint venture company hired for design and consultancy services had undertaken these activities without proper technical or operational analysis. As a result, achieving the project's objectives proved challenging. Despite several weaknesses and practical challenges identified at the planning stage, the Committee noted that steps were taken to complete the project. Accordingly, the solutions already proposed by AASL to achieve the desired objectives of the project were also observed. The COPE members held extensive discussions with local representatives from the Japanese joint venture and senior officials from relevant institutions. During these discussions, the Committee expressed displeasure over the financial losses incurred by the government due to these oversight issues and poor planning. The Committee recommended that, to prevent further misuse of public funds in future development activities, attention must be given to the issues arising during planning stages. The Committee decided to reconvene with the officials from AASL in the near future to continue discussions on the matter. The field inspection was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament M.K.M. Aslam, Samanmali Gunasinghe, Lieutenant Commander (Retd.) Prageeth Madhuranga, Ruwan Mapalagama, Sunil Rajapaksa, Thilina Samarakoon, and Chandima Hettiarachchi, along with officials from relevant institutions and parliamentary officials.
2025-04-10
More than 80 of the recommendations made by the Committee on Public Petitions during the fifth session of the ninth Parliament have not been implemented A decision was taken by the Committee to Review Non-Implementation of Recommendations of the Parliamentary Committees to grant a period of one month for the implementation of recommendations given by the Parliamentary Committees, which have not yet been implemented. This decision was taken during the meeting of the Committee held yesterday (Apr. 09) at the Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney at Law Accordingly, discussions were held on identifying the priority non-implemented recommendations that should be reviewed by the Committee. During the discussion, it was disclosed that over 80 recommendations issued by the Committee on Public Petitions during the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament have not been implemented. Furthermore, the Committee also decided to grant a period of one month for the implementation of recommendations that have not been acted upon, which were issued by the Committee on Public Enterprises (CoPE), Committee on Public Accounts (CoPA), and Committee on Public Finance (CoPF). As such, the Committee decided to issue letters to the respective Ministry Secretaries requesting the implementation of these non-implemented recommendations. If it is not possible to implement them within one month, the reasons for the non-implementation must be submitted in writing to the Committee. Hon. Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Oshani Umanga, and several Parliamentary officials were present at this meeting
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